Fake Giraffe Escapes Boston Zoo

David Kamerman/The Boston Globe via Getty Images(BOSTON) — To the shock of patrons at The Franklin Park Zoo in Boston Wednesday morning, a giraffe broke free from its pen, sparking an emergency response from employees who rushed to corral the animal with weapons drawn.

Possibly more shocking to onlookers: the giraffe wasn’t real, but an employee in an animal costume, the Boston Globe reports.

The event — similar to a rhino “escape” from a Japanese zoo that became a viral video — was meant to test the zoo’s emergency preparedness.